


i'm in warm water, swimming down

by hadeswasonlyaman (riddlemebitch)



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Affection, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Post TLJ, Some Distant Romantic Future, i don't know why this is so soft but... here we are, pure fucking cute shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 00:09:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13154985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riddlemebitch/pseuds/hadeswasonlyaman
Summary: Studying him revealed a lot, even to a scavenger without the most experience reading others. Ben’s face was always an open book — a twitch underneath his eye, his bottom lip jutting out just so, try as he might he never seemed to be able to hide much from anyone, let alone Rey.





	i'm in warm water, swimming down

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. So. This is my first time ever writing Reylo after finally embracing them in a place post TLJ. You can find me over at @savcbensolo on twitter. I'm still grappling with characterisation but this was some pure ass fucking fluff I wrote for a friend for Xmas because I like writing little oneshots/vignettes. He's referred to as Ben because writing Rey's POV w/o doing so seemed weird. Comments are appreciated pls don't call me dumb I know I don't know what I'm doing and I have no idea when this is set.

Rey kept staring at him in the mirrored panel across the room. She couldn’t help herself, it was becoming increasingly amusing and adorable to see him fuss with her hair the way he was, the crease between his eyebrows deepening as he leaned closer, as if it would help him. It didn’t and he huffed, though it sounded more like a growl. He was holding a handful of her hair, trying to twist it into a bun but seemed to keep encountering issues. It wasn’t hard to tell that he liked to commit himself to tasks like this, to get out of his head or just to do something for her, as if he felt he needed to find ways to equal what she had done for him. 

Studying him revealed a lot, even to a scavenger without the most experience reading others. Ben’s face was always an open book — a twitch underneath his eye, his bottom lip jutting out just so, try as he might he never seemed to be able to hide much from anyone, let alone Rey. 

“You really don’t have to do this, Ben.” She assured him again. They’d already been there for what felt like an hour, though she wasn’t complaining just yet. He was gentle with her, if he even thought he’d pulled on her hair a little he apologised, clearly frustrated with himself. 

“You said that when I started.” He said, his concentration not waning as he placed the band that had once been tied in her hair between his teeth. 

“Yes and unfortunately I don’t think you’re much closer to getting it.” Rey was just teasing, but he still paused, removing the band and looking at her. She wore a little smile, watching him in the mirror again.

“I thought I was doing marginally better…” He trailed off, running his fingers through the ends of the hair he’d been holding onto, not quite giving up but maybe on that one section, for the moment. 

She reached up, her hand finding his. Her thumb ran gently over his palm and her index finger ran over the top of it soothingly when that stopped. Ben visibly relaxed, his shoulders falling and it was enough to please her for the moment. “We can come back to it, but I assure you I can do my hair myself. Maybe I should do  _ your _ hair instead.” She suggested, amused. Her hand gave a squeeze before she removed it all together. 

The response to that wasn’t an objection, but he didn’t say anything else either as he moved his own hand to run through all of her hair, over her scalp in a way that made her shiver and shut her eyes. He leaned down, the ends of his long dark hair brushing over her shoulder as he kissed the side of her neck as her head tilted to the side. A cheeky grin formed on her lips as she took his slow gentle moment for opportunity and turned around, quickly snatching the band he’d been trying to tie in her hair from his fingers. 

“Turn around.” She ordered and Ben was helpless to follow.

Now turned around, and Rey shuffled closer to him on her knees, running her hands up his shoulders and then tilting his head back with hands on either side of his face. She ran her hands through his locks for a moment before she began to sweep the top section of hair from either side and tied it into a bun swiftly, leaving enough to still cover his ears like he liked. It was quiet and she was glad to not hear complaints.

“There, that way it won’t fall in your face.” She said as she finished, reaching to turn his head towards her. 

Apparently he still had nothing to say, his eyes searching her face for something, a longing in his expression that still made her feel nervous. It was all new, to the both of them. The intimacy, the ability to reach out and take what they wanted without the terrifying fear of what was bigger than them eclipsing their opportunity to find affection and love in each other. He began to turn back to her fully and she allowed him to, remaining there on her knees, blinking at him. There was something about him with his hair up like that, it made him look younger, even with the unmistakable scar that she’d once upon a time ripped down the side of his face, so long ago now. She imagined the Ben he’d once been, as torn as ever, betrayed and there was a pang of hurt, but she shifted, clenching her jaw for a second before reaching up, poking his cheek.

“Don’t go all quiet now.” She told him, cutting into the space between them with his words and with more movement, placing herself in his lap.

“I’m just thinking.” He replied and it would be ominous if she didn’t feel him, if she didn’t know him now almost more than anyone. His head angled down and she leaned up to capture his lips in hers, the kiss soft and quick. 

Rey didn’t say anything else, not till Ben took her waist and helped her back until her head hit the pillow. It was clear he didn’t want to talk about whatever was going on in his head and she didn’t feel much like talking either. They spoke often, about all of it, even the difficult parts that left him bleary eyed and embarrassed and her no better. Instead he wrapped his arms around her, his large frame practically engulfing her with warmth as she rested her own arms around his shoulders, fingers absently running through the ends of his hair. Always her touch was looking to soothe in smaller ways, working with her hands. He preferred the method of wrapping himself around her. They stayed like that for as long as possible before he seemed to decide there was something he wanted to say. 

His head propped up as he looked at her, seeming to struggle with the intensity of whatever he planned to say until it came out. “Thank you.” 

That was all he could offer and though it was clear that he wasn’t just talking about his hair, Rey frowned but then knew better than to press for more, not right that second. Instead she coaxed him towards her and kissed him again, until their lazy affection grew warmer and required a locked door. 


End file.
